TIFTON—Snakes don’t normally inhabit college libraries but on Sept. 23, several of the reptiles will be front and center at 10 a.m. at the Carlton Center when Dr. Vanessa Lane presents “Snakes in the Stacks” at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
Lane, an Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at ABAC and a certified wildlife biologist, said the annual event is one of her favorite presentations.
“I will be bringing harmless, nonvenomous snakes of several species that are my personal pets and used to being handled,” Lane said. “This is a safe environment where people can choose to be as close or as far as they want to be from the snakes.
“If someone is fearful and they attend this presentation, that’s a great thing. And it could be a first step toward overcoming what is a largely baseless fear.”
“Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to touch the snakes at the end of the session,” Lane said. “We will go over topics such as basic snake behavior, anatomy, and what to do if you find a snake in an unexpected or unwanted spot.
“I will also recommend professional pages available on social media to help with rapid snake identification and even snakebite treatment. However, venomous snakebite is pretty rare, and deaths are even more uncommon.”
Lane said on average, more people are killed by cows (20) than by venomous snakes (5) in the United States on an annual basis.
“People are rarely terrified of cows,” Lane said with a smile. “It really is a perception thing. There will be absolutely no jump scares, just a fun event with calm and deliberate movements, offering the opportunity for people to get close to animals they may normally avoid.”
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